European Citizenship Education: Meanings, Understandings and Actions

CEUD partnered this project that consisted of training course, which was intercultural educational experience for youth and youth workers from EU and EU neighboring countries who have interest and motivation to learn about European Citizenship. TC is built in the partnership with all promoters and based on ideas discussed in few groups of them during the few Youth in Action projects with the aim to use 2013 year as the European Year of Citizens to promote European Citizenship and European values in youth organisations, to create new generation of activists and multipliers who are able to empower people in EU and EU neighboring counties. This training course invests in non-formal education and youth trainings. It supports active inclusion of young people with fewer opportunities.

27 participants from 14 organisations, trainers from Estonia, Latvia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, facilitator from Italy and one support person from Estonia were involved in this ten-days training course in English language between August 12-21, 2013 in Narva-Jõesuu, Estonia.

The main objectives that by the end of the project participants should have reached:

become active citizens who are aware about European Citizenship and European values;

increase participation in public life and integration into society of young people with fewer opportunities by promoting the non-formal education and building the capacity of youth organizations working in the field of active participation and integration of young people with fewer opportunities;

have the skills and practical experience in order to use European values and promote them in youth work, in own daily life and effectively act as multipliers of newly acquired competence in youth organisations and local communities;

have the skills to effectively raise awareness in wider audience, to change attitude toward European Citizenship and European values, to have re-thinking skills for building learning society and better tomorrow;

have entrepreneurship skills to develop new projects and activities based on European values;

create basic network for learning and sharing new ideas and projects with partners from EU and EU neighboring countries.

There were presentations, discussions and games during the morning sessions, individual and group work with reflections and plenary during the afternoon sessions, social and cultural programs in the evenings. Partners also discussed ideas for new common projects and future cooperation.

The main methods of training course applied to the best traditions of non-formal education in Europe and on few innovative methods from trainers involved in this project. It used experimental learning, learning by doing methods, youth activities from Compass and also activities created specially for this training course.